Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Built in Newcastle in the 1980s the oldest trains running on Sydney's metropolitan network today are the K sets. For 40 years now they've carried commuters and families without fail. They were refurbished in the late 1990s, but they are essentially the same trains that were built in Newcastle's Broadmeadow rail yards all those years ago—Australian workers building Australian trains for Australian commuters and doing a really good job at it. Let's compare that with some of the most recent rolling stock on New South Wales public transport networks, the Inner West and the Newcastle light rail. Rather than making trams here, the New South Wales Liberal government imported them from Spain—Spanish workers building Spanish trams for Australian commuters.

The Newcastle-built trains are 40 years old and running strong. The overseas-made trams, though, aren't even five years old and they are already out of service. To quote a representative of Transport for NSW: 'We drove it up and down the line, and you could see the cracks opening and closing on a normal straight bit of track, with no bumps or twists.' Cracks opening and closing on the trams. It isn't right. The only things that are meant to open and close on our trams are their doors, one would hope. It's particularly ironic that the same problems are being seen on the Newcastle light rail. Perhaps they could have made them locally.

It's fair to wonder why the New South Wales government made the decision to buy these Spanish-built trams, but I think we can guess the answer. It's in the Liberal's DNA to cut corners, to outsource and to abandon Australian manufacturing. The New South Wales government initially said that this network closure would have no cost to taxpayers, but today we learnt that the trams are actually out of warranty. How much does it cost to shut down light rail in New South Wales for at least 18 months?

The Victorian, Queensland and WA Labor governments have all shown a better approach, building here in Australia trains, trams and buses on our public networks—trains built in Perth, Maryborough, Dandenong and my home town of Ballarat; trains built by local workers, who shop at local businesses, send their kids to local schools and are part of their local community. Not only is it better for workers; it is better for commuters, who don't have to dodge gaping cracks as they make their way into the office. Of course, what those three states have in common is a Labor government keen to partner with local industry to secure local jobs and to ensure trains, trams, buses and ferries are made here in this country.

An Albanese Labor government will be part of that. An Albanese Labor government sees trains, trams, buses and ferries built in Australia to ensure that every dollar of federal funding spent on rail projects goes to local jobs and local industries, and will deliver a better deal for Australian workers and a better future for Australian commuters.